GRAND RAPIDS, Mich — Grand Rapids’ Parks and Recreation Department is asking for the public’s help in naming its new Turf Tank painting robot.
The Turf Tank is an autonomous, GPS-enabled robot designed to paint precise athletic field lines in less time and using less paint than traditional methods, according to a news release Monday.
It’s expected to begin painting lines for spring sports in late April.
While the Turf Tank autonomously paints fields, park maintenance workers will be able to simultaneously focus on other tasks, like cleaning restrooms and removing litter.
The city expects the Turf Tank to save the department about $5,000 in annual labor and material costs.
The Parks and Recreation department will take submissions from the public for the robot’s nicknames through April 1.
Residents can submit up the three family-friendly names.
After the submission period, Parks and Recreation will choose 25 names to be put to public vote from April 5-9.
The name with the most votes will be added to the side of the robot.
“The new Turf Tank has become something of a local celebrity in our department,” Parks and Recreation Director David Marquardt said. “We want residents to have some fun naming this innovative addition to our maintenance team that will soon be seen at our athletic fields.”
Residents can submit names here.
